Volume 27 Issue 1 - September / October 2021

and beyond. When they reunite, each brings
their best in not only their playing experience,
but as equal composers and co-leaders.
The result of this fine balance is exquisitely
produced on this album. Already a huge fan
of this trio, and though their first two albums
were thoroughly enjoyable, Flicker Down is a
whole other listening experience.
As improvisers, the group keeps their freshness
alive with a freedom of expression and
a nuanced sense of timing that decades of
experience has only heightened. With several
manipulated improvisations added to some
tracks, this album has a more composed feel
but manages to retain the creative freedom
and melodic flow that the group is revered
for. As cultural travellers, there is a flavour
of world music mixed with jazz, folk and
contemporary composition, sublimely
polished with fine chamber playing. With 18
beautiful tracks there is a plethora of favourites.
Montbretia Gates (1’49”), featuring guest
flutist Miranda Clingwall, is one of many
gems. The decisiveness of Highway of Tears
– based on lyrics that concern the murder of
Indigenous women – avoids sentimentality
and keeps clear the social messaging. Each
player’s technical execution is sheer perfection;
gorgeously subtle mixing and production
from Bentley only raises the bar.
Cheryl Ockrant
Sings & Plays
Jonathan Bauer
Slammin’ Media
(jonathanbauermusic.com)
! Renowned
Canadian-born,
New Orleans-based
trumpeter Jonathan
Bauer is exposing a
new artistic side on
this newest release
– a smooth tenor
voice that both rivals and adds to his talents
on the horn. Featuring well-known musicians
such as Mike Clement, Gerald Watkins Jr. and
Ryan Hanseler, this sultry and classy album
is one that any jazz lover would want in their
collection. The selection of songs by classics,
ranging from Henry Mancini to George
Gershwin, does a great job of not only showcasing
Bauer’s skills as a leader, trumpeter
and now as a vocalist, but also the superb
talents of the all-star lineup that backs him.
Sonorous, silky horn melodies lead the
listener through staples of the genre like Days
of Wine and Roses and Love is Here to Stay.
For those that are familiar with the musician,
the unique dark and buttery tone that
he conjures out of the trumpet, almost reminiscent
of the flugelhorn, is back in full force
throughout the record. What makes Bauer
stand out even more is the way that the
happiness and bliss he pours into his instrument
clearly translates into his vocals, his
voice having the same soaring, joyous quality
that the trumpet melodies invoke. The album
is a fabulous introduction to this side of the
famed artist’s talents and leaves the listener
excited to hear more, both instrumentally and
vocally, in the future.
Kati Kiilaspea
You Don’t Know What Love Is
Angela Wrigley Trio
Cellar Music CM051920 (cellarlive.com)
! On her impressive
debut offering,
Alberta chanteuse,
pianist and
composer Angela
Wrigley has come
forth with a
delightful recording
that incorporates
funky, horn-infused original compositions
with tasty standards, reimagined for
a contemporary audience. Joined by her
fine trio members, Derek Stoll (bass/piano/
organ) and Dave Lake on drums, Wrigley also
welcomed percussionist Bob Fenske, saxophonist
Cory Weeds, trumpeter Vince Mai
and trombonist Rod Murray. This clever and
appealing project was also produced by longtime
jazz-focused record-label visionary Scott
Morin and master saxophonist, producer,
recording label owner and jazz impresario,
Weeds.
The opening salvo, How Did I Get Here,
is a funky original composition, in which
Wrigley’s warm and soulful pipes wind themselves
around this siren song of compelling
lyric and melody. Mai infuses the arrangement
with both sexy muted trumpet and a
large, mouth-pieced Latin sound. Another
intriguing original track is Crazy Fool – a
nostalgia-tinged tip of the hat to Tower of
Power and other funky horn/vocal bands
of the 70s and 80s. Stoll’s classic Fender
Rhodes sound is as refreshing as it was back
in the day.
Other standouts include Hoagy
Carmichael’s moving I Get Along Without
You Very Well, in which Wrigley utilizes her
sweet, vulnerable upper register, while Weeds
cries through his horn in delicate counterpoint;
also a bluesy, B3-infused Lover Man;
the superb title track, featuring pristine vocals
and Stoll’s eloquent piano work; and finally
Drive, where composition, performance and
arrangement merge in perfect symmetry. This
CD is a beautifully constructed first release
that clearly establishes this talented new
artist’s identity and sound.
Lesley Mitchell-Clarke
Live
John MacMurchy; Dan Ionescu
Independent
(johnmacmurchy.bandcamp.com)
! Performing
music with friends
in the intimacy of
a celebrated studio
appears to be
among the greatest
joys of a practicing
musician.
This is certainly
demonstrated by woodwinds specialist John
MacMurchy and guitarist Dan Ionescu. Live
(at the Canterbury Music Company) allows
the two musicians to probe the dark and
light recesses of the art of the duo; to enter
private worlds in which sadness and joy, and
despair and hope, are shared in the most
striking terms.
Both MacMurchy and Ionescu express their
virtuosity and evoke dramatic and psychological
atmospheres in a manner so alive that
the musicians seem to be looking over their
shoulders, pursuing – and being pursued by
– one another, each with a sense of urgency
and anticipation marked by rhythm and
colour. The idea of interpreting standards –
extended to cover the musical topography of
Brazil – is central to this disc. However, it is
also clear that this is an ode to songfulness.
The apogee of this record may be Ionescu’s
and MacMurchy’s exquisite composition For
the Love of Song.
MacMurchy’s smoky articulation is beautifully
suited to the woody tones of the clarinet,
and to I’m Old Fashioned, with which he
opens the disc. The warmth of his playing,
breathy phrasing and softly lingering vibrato,
extends to the tenor saxophone as well.
Meanwhile Ionescu proves to be a perfect
musical partner, his tone redolent of a luminosity
that marks his single-note lines and
chordal playing.
Concert Note: The John MacMurchy Quintet
is scheduled to perform at the Jazz Bistro on
Thursday October 21.
Raul da Gama
L’Impact du silence
François Bourassa
Effendi Records FND162
(francoisbourassa.com)
! An entire album
of solo piano
music truly brings
listeners into the
concept that the
pianist is creating.
From Art Tatum
to Fats Waller, to
the bebop stylings
of Bud Powell and
rhythmically advanced soundscapes fashioned
by Lennie Tristano, through Bill Evans,
46 | September and October 2021 thewholenote.com